


Magic, Mending, and Flickers of Light

by TardisInWonderland



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-21
Updated: 2012-12-21
Packaged: 2017-11-21 23:09:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/603094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisInWonderland/pseuds/TardisInWonderland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>50 First Hamburger Dates #18</p><p>They're trying again (and again... and again), and this time the snow causes just a few problems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Magic, Mending, and Flickers of Light

The fact that it was perfectly acceptable for women to wear pants in this world was possibly the thing that Belle liked most, even if it did expose her legs in a way that she was still getting used to. She’d never be able to make it to the diner in this weather in a skirt, and she’d freeze at that!

It was snowing moderately fast, and Belle was already in awe of the six inches that seemed to have magically appeared the night before. Snow didn’t seem to stop anyone in Storybrooke from going about their business. The streets were blanketed in white, and since cars couldn’t get through and they didn’t have the means to clear the roads, people found different means of transportation. There were horses in the stables, and people living near there rode then around for longer distances. Ruby and Granny had taken to cross country skiing, and Henry had adopted a pair of old snowshoes. For her part, Belle preferred to avoid the roads at all times unles she was crossing them. The sidewalks had been salted and cleared (even though no one seemed to want to use them), which was more than enough for everyone to get where they needed in such a small town. 

It was only five-thirty and the sun was setting as Belle walked into the diner, sliding into the same booth they always sat at. Ruby waved from the corner and nodded, indicating that she’d get their order ready. By now she knew that Belle wanted whatever Ruby cared to fix and her date always ordered the exact same thing. 

Rumpelstiltskin showed up only a few minutes later, brushing snow off his shoulders and he walked in the door. The entire room hushed for a moment, and then the whispers picked up even more than before. Belle rolled her eyes. You would think this would get old for them after this long.

“Hello.” He smiled and slid into his side of the booth, shedding his coat and scarf. 

“Hi.” It was amazing how two adults who used to live in the same ho- er, castle- could still sound like awkward preteens. Belle also slipped out of her heavy coat, revealing a gold mock turtleneck sweater with just a little bit of sparkle to it. Her hair tumbled out of her hat and fell in long waves around her shoulders. Rumpelstiltskin’s mouth twitched into a smile. “What?”

“You.” He explained. “You look like you did when I first met you- intelligent, strong… absolutely beautiful.” Belle only blushed and looked down.

“Thank you.” About that time Ruby came with their hamburgers. Belle had something called “onion straws” on hers with a strange kind of tangy sauce. Apparently the cook had been experimenting with southern style burgers, whatever that was.

“The snow’s beautiful.” Belle said, glancing out the window. The streetlights showed patches of falling white flakes, contrasting the darkness of the sky.

“That it is, however much cold and wet you might get in return.”

“It never snowed often when I lived with my father- too warm. Do you remember the first time it snowed at the Dark Castle?”

“Indeed.” Rumpelstiltskin nodded, chuckling. “You got a cold and had to stay in bed all week because you were too stubborn to use magic to cure it.”

“Magic can’t fix everything- you said so yourself.”

“Yes…” The words not spoken rang loud in the air. Magic could fix many things- it could mend a wall or a rip in a shirt, it could reattach an arm in the blink of an eye, cure a cold, give a woman the child she wanted so much… but it was purely superficial in the end. It was power, raw and ready to be manipulated, and that was always superficial.

You can give someone a love potion, but it doesn’t make them feel love. You can make someone forget their love, but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t exist or that it wasn’t true. You can cure a cold, but not take back the time the cold took away. You can mend an arm, but you can’t mend a broken heart. 

Some things can’t be healed by ordinary means or by magic, but only by the great magics called Time and True Love, which know no owner or commander and cannot be bended to mortal will. They fix and break by their own whims, but sometimes even the great magics are powerless to repair all the damage done.

Belle was about to speak again, but around that time the lights flickered.

Flickering lights. Snow outside, falling extremely fast…

This was not good.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Rumpelstiltskin muttered. The lights flickered again and the murmuring grew louder.

“What’s going on?” Belle asked, glancing up at the ceiling. She still hadn’t quite grasped the concept of channeling electricity through wires, and worried when anything electric did something out of the ordinary. Flickering lights were no exception to this rule.

“Well, it seems the snow has-” but before he could finish, the lights flickered one final time, and then went out, leaving the room eerily silent. “Affected the power lines.” 

Belle went from worried to panicked in an instant, the diner pitch black and voices rising from everywhere at once.

“Everyone stay calm!” Granny’s voice called out above the rest. “I’ll go out and get the generator running.” There was a rustling and clanking from near the register that Rumpelstiltskin assumed meant she was looking for a flashlight. By now there were several cell phone lights flicking on, casting cool shadows across booths and tables. They could see that the streetlights were also out- apparently the whole town had been deprived of power.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine.” Rumpelstiltskin assured her. He reached out in the darkness and found her hand, squeezing it gently. “Belle? Are you alright?”

“Yes.” She whispered, but her voice sounded shaky and small, and her hand was clammy. Rumpelstiltskin made to pull away, but she squeezed his hand desperately as he did so, not wanting to lose his touch.

“Stay where you are, dearie. Just one moment.” He somehow managed to keep a grip on her hand as he slid out of his side of the booth and into the other side to sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She settled with her head on his chest like a frightened child.

A flicker of yellow light from the side and a cry of “Ah-HA!” indicated that Granny had found a flashlight, and was likely on the way out back to crank up the generator. Storybrooke was fairly well-equipped for situations like this. Each building had a fireplace, a woodstove, or a small generator, and the nun’s convent had all three for some ridiculous reason. In case of an emergency, the entire town could be squeezed inside the nun’s rather large home on the outskirts of town (though it was a rather tight squeeze) and stay there for a few days while things were repaired.

“They’ll have the lights back on in a minute, love.” Rumpelstiltskin said, running a hand through her hair. Belle hadn’t relaxed yet, feeling tense and stiff beside him.

“When they locked me up in the dungeons it was like this.” She whispered, fingers gripping him just a bit tighter. “It was so dark, and cold, and empty. It wasn’t so bad when I knew what was happening, back in the other world, but when I was alone in the hospital I would cry out until my throat was raw and no one would answer.” 

“That’s not going to happen again. I’m right here, and I’m not leaving you.” He kissed her forehead gently and traced feather light patterns down her arm in the dark, feeling her slowly relax against him. Her breathing became regular, and for a moment he thought she was asleep…

Until the lights turned back on.

The heater started with a roar, and she jumped back up to attention. Though the lighting was perhaps a bit dimmer, it was enough that they could see to get out of the diner. After the lighting incident, they both had lost their appetites. Ruby gave Belle a flashlight to help them find their way back in the dark and the snow, and they set out.

“Are you going to be alright all alone?”

“Yeah.” She answered, a bit too hastily for Rumpelstiltskin’s taste “Don’t worry about me.” That was his Belle- always more concerned about others than herself. It was noble, in a way, but he wished she would take better care of herself. Going to sessions with Archie seemed to be helping, but it wasn’t the only thing she needed- friends, family, stability. These things were important to someone recovering from everything she’d been through, and the only one that Belle had going for her was Ruby (who, in his opinion, didn’t amount to too much after locking her in the library).

“I always worry about you.” 

Belle looked over, a sad smile just visible in the yellow beam coming from the flashlight. They arrived at her apartment in another minute or so, but she hesitated at the door. The generator for the building was just powerful enough to run the heat. Lights were out of the question, and even his own house was out of luck for lights- no generator, just a fireplace.

“Could… could you maybe…?” 

“Of course.” Rumpelstiltskin went in first, and between the two of them they managed to find a second flashlight in a drawer and some candles and matches tucked away in one of the small kitchen cabinets. Belle lit three of the large, round candles and put them on the coffee table, taking a seat on the couch. The light was comforting, however small. When there was electricity she always kept the hall light on, leaving the door open just a crack so that she could see if she woke up in the night. At any point she could throw the door open and see everything in the room.

Now there was just the candles, burning with a small but constant flame.

“A flicker of light in an ocean of darkness… like you.” Rumpelstiltskin murmured, taking a seat beside her. Belle raised an eyebrow, confused. “The prince once asked me what I knew about love, and when he asked who, I said ‘it was a brief flicker of light in an ocean of darkness.’”

“Very poetic.” She reached out to take his hand, entwining their fingers together.

“And very true. You were my light, Belle.” He leaned down to kiss her cheek, but she promptly turned her head so their lips met instead. 

“I love you.” Belle said, and even quietly spoken those words were always the loudest thing in the room to Rumpelstiltskin. “Would you… would you stay with me? Just until the electricity returns, I mean…”

“Of course.”

The lights would probably be back on by morning, but for now he would stay. After throwing her out, no matter how much she said, he still felt that he owed her everything. If she needed comfort, he would be there, and now was certainly the time to show that.

They sat on the sofa and talked through the night, only falling asleep when the first faint rays of the sunrise broke through the night.


End file.
